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THIS WEEK: The No. 7 Stanford men’s volleyball team (4-3, 1-3 MPSF) returns to The Farm to play host to No. 6 Long Beach State (4-3, 3-3 MPSF) and No. 13 Cal State Northridge (2-3, 2-2 MPSF) in Maples Pavilion. The Cardinal will take on the 49ers on Friday, Jan. 31 at 7 p.m. PT and the Matadors on Saturday, Feb. 1 at 7 p.m. PT.

SCOUTING LONG BEACH STATE: Long Beach State enters the match with a 4-3 overall record and a 3-3 mark in the MPSF. The 49ers are coming off a five-set win over then-No. 1 Pepperdine last Friday. An experienced squad, LBSU is led by senior Taylor Crabb’s 4.63 kills and 2.15 digs per set. Senior outside hitter Dalton Ammerman adds 2.67 kills per set, while senior Jeff Ornee paces the squad with 1.43 blocks per set. Senior setter Connor Olbright controls the offense with 11.70 assists per set.

SCOUTING CAL STATE NORTHRIDGE: The Matadors are 2-3 overall and 2-2 in the MPSF coming off a sweep over then-No. 4 USC at home last week. CSUN also pushed then-No. 1 Pepperdine to five sets. The Matadors are led by their underclassmen. Freshman Damani Lenore, who has played in nine of the team’s 18 sets, is averaging 4.56 kills per set, while freshman Jakub Ciesla is posting 3.00 kills and 1.55 digs per set. Sophomore outside hitter Sam Hold leads all players with 49 kills on the year (2.88 kps). Junior middle blocker Greg Faulkner adds 1.39 kills and 1.00 blocks per set on a .477 attack percentage.

CATCH THE CARDINAL: Live stats for both matches can be found on the men’s volleyball schedule page on GoStanford.com. KZSU radio will also be broadcasting both matches at 90.1 FM or online at http://kzsu.stanford.edu/.

SOCIAL MEDIA: Fans will have access to unique behind-the-scenes content on the team this season by liking Stanford Men’s Volleyball on Facebook or following the team on Twitter (@StanfordMVB) and Instagram (@therealstanfordmvb).

LAST WEEK: Stanford wrapped up its four-match road trip with a split. The Cardinal dropped a four-set decision at then-No. 7 BYU in front of more than 5,000 fans in Provo. Stanford rebounded with a sweep over Cal Baptist for its first MPSF win of the year. Senior Brian Cook led the team with 3.71 kills per set on a .440 attack percentage. Sophomore setter James Shaw racked up 11.14 assists per set and notched 1.43 kills per set.

IN THE POLL: Stanford dropped one spot to No. 7 in the latest AVCA Division I-II Men’s Coaches Poll. The Cardinal is one of 10 MPSF teams ranked in the top-15 with eight appearing in the top 10.

STATISTICAL RANKINGS: As a team, Stanford ranks among the top-10 in the nation in hitting percentage (.336 - 3rd), kills per set (13.21 - 8th) and assists per set (12.36 - 9th). Individually, setter James Shaw is eighth nationally with 10.96 assists per set. Senior Steven Irvin comes in at No. 15 with 3.71 kills per set, while redshirt junior Grant Delgado is 18th with 2.50 digs per set.

THAT’S A RECORD: As a team, Stanford put down 14 service aces against Lewis on Jan. 10 to set a school record during the rally scoring era (2001-present). Senior Brian Cook and redshirt junior Daniel Tublin led the way with four aces apiece.

HEAD COACH JOHN KOSTY: Stanford head coach John Kosty is in his eighth season at the helm of the Cardinal program and his 24th overall on staff. He is 125-85 in his career and guided Stanford to the 2010 NCAA national championship. The Cardinal has produced a first team AVCA All-America selection in each of the past six seasons under Kosty.